Pitcher Murphy McRoberts and the Fossil Ridge softball team are geared up for their first-round game in the Class 5A State Championships. / Sam Noblett/The Coloradoan

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Haley Donaldson and the Fossil Ridge softball team are hoping to get past the first round of the Class 5A State Championships this season. / Miles Blumhardt/The Coloradoan

Schedule concerns

The Fossil Ridge High School softball team is scheduled to play Pine Creek at 12:15 p.m. Friday at Aurora Sports Park. That and other Class 5A State Championships first-round games are in jeopardy because of the potential for inclement weather Friday in Aurora. The tournament is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Friday. The Weather Channel calls for rain and snow showers Friday with a high of 49 degrees Farenheit. The Colorado High School Activities Association said in a Tuesday story if games are postponed Friday, teams will play those games as soon as the fields are playable. That may be Saturday, in which case CHSAA said the tournament would continue into Sunday, according to the article.

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The Fossil Ridge High School softball team is here again.

Here refers to a strong regular season capped by a trip to the Class 5A State Championships.

Here, for the SaberCats (20-1), has meant a first-round exit from the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

“It’s been a bad feeling,” said third-year coach Dave Philop.

Last year featured a 10-7 loss to Mountain Vista in the first round after a 19-3 season. Two years ago, Fossil Ridge lost 5-4 to Dakota Ridge after going 17-5 up to that point.

The past can be haunting, and even led Philop to draw parallels between last year’s Denver Broncos and their first-round loss.

Like the Broncos, this year’s SaberCats have won 11 straight heading into the state championships. Philop and company hope some significant departures from past tradition spell a different result this postseason.

This year marks the first time the SaberCats have won the Triple Crown Tournament at the start of the season, had a share of the Front Range League title, hosted a regional tournament and won a regional tournament.

Could it be the first time the SaberCats get past the first round as well?

“We’re just going to have to come out on our A-game,” sophomore shortstop Haley Donaldson said. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves.”

That sentiment may be shared most by juniors and seniors who witnessed each of the first-round losses. But those upperclassmen will need a strong performance from Donaldson. She’s hitting .589, better than all SaberCats with at least eight at bats. Donaldson also leads the team in hits (43), home runs (nine), RBI (32) and triples (three).

“She’s definitely a talent,” said Philop, who coached collegiate softball before coming to Fossil Ridge. “She’s got a very bright future ahead. It’s kind of a neat thing for her, and it’s a neat thing for us too. Knowing she’s back is going to make it a lot of fun.”

But Philop and the SaberCats aren’t looking toward the future right now, at least not past 12:15 p.m. Friday, when they are scheduled to face No. 14 Pine Creek at the Aurora Sports Park. The SaberCats are seeded third.

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“I feel like the first game is just going to get us going,” Donaldson said. “I feel like if we get that, it will help push us through.”

Philop had a similar sentiment, saying that first win, if it comes, could vault the SaberCats into a new wave of momentum. They’ve got plenty of momentum coming in, and surprisingly few nerves, Philop said.

Talking about the girls he’s been around for three years may have brought out the soft side of Philop, as opposed to the dugout worrier. He pondered for a moment another question about the team’s history of first-round exits.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” Philop said. “And yeah, none of us want it to be over.”

Tyler Silvy covers high school sports for The Coloradoan. Reach him at TylerSilvy@coloradoan.com. Connect with him at Facebook.com/TylerSilvy or @TylerSilvy on Twitter.